Major transfers from BlackRock: over $430 million in cryptocurrency sent to Coinbase Prime

A leading global asset management company is once again demonstrating activity in the cryptocurrency market. Addresses associated with BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin and Ethereum funds made a major transfer of funds, sending over $430 million in digital assets to Coinbase Prime platform in the past 24 hours. This move has become one of the most significant clusters of exchange-traded fund operations this week.

Large Transfers and Institutional Flows

The transfer volume included approximately 3,070 bitcoins worth about $276 million and around 52,800 ethers valued at $157 million at current market prices. The activity originated from addresses of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), owned by BlackRock. The recipients of the transactions were the Coinbase Prime platform, which serves as a tool for authorized participants in managing spot fund shares registered in the US.

Simultaneously, there were significant outflows from US-based spot crypto funds—about $709 million from Bitcoin funds and $298 million from Ethereum products. According to data from SoSoValue, BlackRock is responsible for $356 million of the outflow from Bitcoin funds and $250 million from Ethereum products.

Machine Operations or Market Signal?

The key question market analysts are asking: do these transfers indicate that large institutional investors are losing confidence? Experts suggest that this is unlikely. The movement of funds to Coinbase Prime is closely related to the process of creating and redeeming ETF shares, rather than direct market sales. Essentially, these are operational flows associated with internal asset transfers, not discretionary investment decisions.

Similar activity was observed on January 13, when BlackRock directed approximately $300 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum to the same platform. At that time, Bitcoin temporarily rose above $92,000. These events demonstrate that fund transfers can coincide with short-term market volatility but are not the cause of it.

Market at a Turning Point: Current Quotes and Dynamics

As of January 29, Bitcoin is trading at $87.83K, down 2.30% over the past 24 hours, while Ethereum remains at $2.93K, down 3.35% in the same period. Broader cryptocurrency markets are experiencing a stabilization period after a volatile phase caused by macroeconomic news and changing risk appetite.

IBIT remains the largest institutional holder of Bitcoin, managing hundreds of thousands of BTC on behalf of its clients. ETHA holds a similar position among regulated instruments for gaining exposure to Ethereum. Both the activity of these funds and the transfers of their assets are closely monitored by investors, as they serve as indicators of the sentiment of major institutional players in the cryptocurrency market.

On-chain data is provided by Arkham, a platform specializing in tracking cryptocurrency asset movements and analyzing transactions based on available on-chain information.